What to Make of Leo Valdez
by xoxo Cherie
Summary: Frank didn't know what to make of Leo Valdez. The only thing he could figure was that whenever he was around, Hazel would suddenly have a look of panic on her face. Maybe it was time to get to know Leo better. For all he knew, maybe they had something in common. Friendship fic.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:** I do not own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ or_ The Heroes of Olym__pus._**

* * *

Frank didn't know what to make of the elfish, hyperactive son of Vulcan.

From what Frank could see, he was a curly-haired Latino on the short side, and it seemed like he constantly had a smile on his face. Not a regular, friendly smile, but the kind of expression a mad scientist would make before beginning his latest experiment. That sort of made sense, considering he was, from what Frank had heard, the mastermind behind the huge bronze trireme looming over New Rome. But, besides the slightly jumpy look in his eyes, Frank couldn't find anything threatening or out-of-the-ordinary with his appearance.

So, he was good with his hands? The floating ship _was_ pretty impressive. It was huge, casting a large shadow over Camp Jupiter, and even from the ground, the dragon masthead looked scary; it looked _alive_. But that wasn't it either. Having a talent for mechanics and engineering was common among most children of Vulcan, similar to how Apollo's descendants were gifted in music and medicine.

No, Frank realized with a start that the reason why he had taken a sudden interest in Leo Valdez wasn't for just any reason, but because of the pained look that had crossed Hazel's face the moment she had laid eyes on him. It was like she had seen a ghost (and he had a feeling that Hazel was pretty experienced in that department). He would see the look appear every time Leo Valdez was within viewing distance: on the video scroll, when he climbed the down the rope ladder from the _Argo II_, even when they were finally reunited with Jason, he could see the pain hidden under her smile.

Despite the diplomacy that the Roman and Greek campers had agreed to, Frank was going to get to the bottom of this. No one made his girl upset and got away with it (of course, Hazel wasn't really _his girl_, but that was besides the point). It was time to have a little talk with Leo Valdez

* * *

It was one of the hottest days Camp Jupiter had encountered that summer. The Greeks had only arrived a few days prior, and, everyday since, Percy, Jason, and Reyna had been arguing with Octavian because, for some reason, he was convinced that the Greek campers were only here to defeat them and take over the camp. For a guy who could read prophecies and potentially see the future, Frank thought, Octavian could be pretty short-sighted.

The debating had been heated since the moment they landed, but the praetors, along with the rest of the Senate, agreed that the it was too hot and they would reconvene the next day.

Passing the Pomerian Line into New Rome, he could hear some of the kids in town at the lake, splashing and giggling.

"Hey, Terminus," Frank called to the godly marble statue.

"Frank Zhang, if my senses are correct, which they always are, you decided to leave your bow and arrow back at the barracks today?"

Frank raised his arms in an _I_ _surrender _manner. "Yup, I'm clean."

"Very good."

He passed the Senate House and then stopped a few paces to the left. He had reached his destination. When he looked up, he saw the massive bronze trireme glowing in the beating sunlight. He had to squint because the light reflecting off the hull could probably blind someone.

Frank hadn't had a chance to actually get on the boat, what with the chaos of the Greeks suddenly entering camp, but he let his curiosity (and his vexation with Leo Valdez) lead him there. He took hold of the rope ladder hanging off the side and climbed his way to the top.

* * *

On the deck of the _Argo II_, he saw a few campers in orange T-shirts. How they could just lounge around up here without dying of a heatstroke beat Frank. His eyes scanned the few faces looking for a familiar one.

At the bow of the ship, he could see Leo leaning with his arms against the railing. He had on the same orange T-shirt as everyone else, and the tool belt that he always seemed to be wearing hung around his hips. Frank made his way over.

"Hey."

Leo started at the voice behind him and turned. "Oh, hey! You're that son of Ares! The one that can change into different animals, right?" Leo's animated expression mirrored the fascination he felt. "I was talking to Percy and he said he saw you transform into an elephant! Dude, that is so _wicked_!"

From far away Frank had thought Leo was pretty harmless, but up close, he got an uneasy feeling. He half expected Leo's head to start spinning around his neck.

"Uh yeah. I mean, I guess-"

"Dude, can you, like, turn into a T-rex? That would be _so_ cool!"

"Well, I've never actually tried-"

"Those giants wouldn't know what hit them if we had a freakin' _dinosaur_ on our side!"

Before Leo could interrupt him again, Frank spoke up.

"I'm Frank. You're Leo Valdez right?"

Leo flashed him a grin. "The one and only," he said smoothly. "Son of Hephaestus, builder extraordinaire, Supreme Commander of the _Argo II,_" he said, placing his hands on his hips like he was posing for a photo. "So did you need something? Or were you looking for Jason, because I thought I saw him sneaking off with Piper somewhere-"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

At this, Leo looked slightly stunned. "Oh, cool. Usually, the only time people ever talk to me is if they need me to fix something. So, shoot."

Honestly, Frank didn't know what to say next. _Hey, why does Hazel always freak out every time she sees you?_ didn't really sound like the best way to start a conversation. Instead he said, "Uh, this boat, it's pretty cool. Did you design it?"

"Sure did." His smile stretched from ear to ear. "I came up with the idea when I was five years old."

It was Frank's turn to look stunned. "_Five?_ You've known you were a demigod for that long?"

"Uh, well, not exactly." Leo scratched his head, trying to think of a way to explain. "I guess, you can say I have a little history with some gods. But I only found out my dad was Hephaestus last winter."

He nodded in acknowledgment. "So, you've been living with your mom until you found out?"

Frank realized a little too late that he shouldn't have asked that question. The smile on Leo's face disappeared without a trace, the vibrant light that was in his eyes seconds before dimmed considerably.

"No. She-she died when I was eight."

In the back of his mind, Frank really wanted to not like this kid. He had obviously been making Hazel upset for the last few days. But upon hearing what Leo had just said, Frank wished he could hit himself with the hammer hanging from Leo's tool belt. How was we gonna fix this?

"Oh gods, I-uh, I didn't mean-I'm really-"

"Hey, it's cool," Leo said, looking down at the deck of the ship. "It's not like you knew or anything."

Frank could hear the pain in Leo's voice as he spoke. He came up here planning on getting to know Leo better, maybe find out if he had some kind of connection to Hazel, but this was definitely more than he had planned on learning. He knew he had to amend it somehow, so before Frank could stop himself, he spoke up.

"I'm really sorry. I understand." He rushed the words out, and then took a breath, "My mom died too."

Leo lifted his head back up and met his eyes. They shared a look and Leo gave a small smile of understanding before he coughed in an attempt to ease the moment.

"So, is this your first time on the boat?"

Frank was glad to see the happy expression was back on Leo's face.

"Yup. I don't know why it's taken me so long to take a look up here."

"How about the Supreme Commander of the _Argo II_ gives you the grand tour?" he said, his voice mischievous and his smile reaching up to his eyes.

"Yeah, sure." Frank returned the smile.

As Leo animatedly described the control panel (Was that a Wii controller? And a keyboard?), Frank decided that maybe Leo wasn't all that bad. Sure, he had more energy than the kids from both camps combined, but he didn't think he was a bad guy or intentionally hurting Hazel. He laughed as Leo blasted the sound system and freaked out all the campers resting on the deck.

Leo was definitely a character, but maybe the two of them could even be friends.

* * *

**AN:**** Wow, it feels like I've been on a writing whirlwing these past few days. So the idea for this story came to mind a while ago, but I never really had the inspiration to write anything. I actually love Leo's character, and after I read Son of Neptune, I thought Frank and Leo interacting would be really interesting. They have so much in common, but can also be polar opposites. **

**I'm almost sure this is gonna end up being a two or three-shot depending on what I can come up with. I can't say I'm totally satisfied with it, but I'll just have to see where it goes.**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are welcome and appreciated!**

**xoxo Cherie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians _or _The Heroes of Olympus._**

* * *

Frank couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling Leo Valdez had made quite the impression on him during the past few days. He found himself climbing up the side of the _Argo II_ a lot more often since he and Leo had first met, and a tentative friendship had formed as they hung out more and more. He liked being in Leo's company, even though Leo seemed like he was hopped up on caffeine most of the time.

He also couldn't help but enjoy relaxing a bit. It's not like he had a lot of free time what with the Senate meetings and training, but he'd take what he could get and split his time between hanging out with Hazel and visiting Leo on the boat.

After trekking to Alaska and watching his home in Canada burn down along with all the times he'd almost been killed, he figured no one would begrudge him for taking a break. Frank may have been a centurion, but he was still new to all of this.

That day, Frank climbed up the side of the _Argo II_, and sought out Leo. The deck wasn't as crowded as before, and he figured everyone had went to get lunch. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Leo at the bow of the boat and-was he talking to the dragon masthead?

"Festus, don't be in such a bad mood." he pleaded with the bronze dragon head. "I know you don't have wings anymore, but look! You can still fly! I know it's not really the same thing, but I wanted you to be here with me!"

"Uh, Leo?"

Leo turned and saw Frank with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Hey, Frank!"

"Uh…" Frank didn't know how to ask his question without making Leo sound crazy, but he gave it his best shot. "Why are you talking to the masthead?"

"Oh, gods! I can't believe I haven't introduced you two yet!" He grabbed Frank by the arm and dragged him as close to the dragon head as possible. "Frank, this is Festus. Festus, this is my new friend, Frank."

Frank chanced a look at the ferocious looking dragon. Its eyes were huge rubies the size of his fists and it bared its pointy teeth as if it were trying to scare away all other flying boats.

Frank wasn't very good at Latin yet, but he knew that _festus_ meant festive, merry, _happy_. Although, he was pretty sure those weren't the feelings that came to mind when looking at its scary face.

"You named your masthead?"

"Don't be silly!" Leo said as if it were the most absurd thing he'd ever heard. "I named my automaton dragon. Then, after he was destroyed, I attached his head to the boat."

"Er, right." He was pretty sure Leo was the absurd one at this point. "And you named him Happy the Dragon?"

Leo let out an audible sigh. "Jason said the same thing, and that got Festus in a pretty bad mood last time. I think he's got some beef with Jason."

Just as Leo said Jason's name, steam billowed out of Festus' nostrils. Maybe what Frank had thought a few days ago about the masthead being alive was right.

"Hey, mister!" Leo scolded Happy the Dragon. "I thought I told you to be polite!"

Somewhere in the back of Festus' mechanical throat, Frank heard the sounds of steam hissing along with gears grinding against each other.

"Leo," Frank started, "is he supposed to be making that noise?"

"Uh oh. Frank, step back!"

Before he could take a step backwards on his own, Leo shoved him away so he landed on the deck on his butt. He was about to retort to Leo, but then, Festus unhinged his jaw and fire streamed out of his bronze maw. But that wasn't what terrified Frank. What did was that Leo's left hand and forearm were caught right in front of Festus's mouth and the stream of fire directly hit his arm.

"Leo!" Frank called. He wanted to help, but he was frozen on the floor of the ship, despite the heat he could feel radiating from the fire.

When Festus had stopped breathing fire, Frank had expected Leo's arm to be charred and barely hanging from the rest of his body. However, he was caught off guard when he saw that the tanned skin of Leo's arm was perfectly fine.

Finally, he got up from the ground onto shaky legs and made his way over to Leo. Frank gaped as he looked at Leo's perfectly fine arm. The sleeve of his T-shirt was scorched black, so there definitely had been a fire coming from Festus' mouth; it wasn't an illusion. So how had Leo survived the blast?

While he was lost in thought, Leo was back to reprimanding the masthead.

"Festus! That could have really hurt someone! You could've burned Frank!"

A noise like a whimper escaped Festus' smoking mouth.

"You have to be more careful. Understand?" Leo turned his attention to Frank, but he was still staring at Leo's arm. "Frank? Are you okay?"

Leo's voice pulled him from his gaping. He ignored his question and, instead, stuttered, "Y-you're arm. You're arm is fine."

"Huh?" Leo glanced down at his left arm, twisting it and flexing it a few times. "Yeah, it is."

"But how?"

Leo grinned. "Just a gift from good old Dad."

"But," the puzzled expression from when he first saw Leo talking to Festus was back, "children of Vulcan aren't immune to fire. I have friends that have been burnt in the forges before."

"Yeah, I guess you can say I'm a special case. I'm immune to fire, and-oh! Look what else I can do!"

Leo took a step back, and put his hands in front of him with his palms up. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, an uncharacteristically focused look crossing his features. In a few seconds, little flames materialized in his open palms and began dancing on his fingertips.

Another grin was plastered on Leo's face. "Yes! I've been getting the hang of it for the past few weeks, but it works! Pretty cool, right?"

Instead of the look of awe that Leo had been expecting, Frank looked like he was going to faint.

Frank was caught off guard for the second time in the past five minutes.

"You can control fire?"

"Yeah." This time, the grin was replaced with a sad look. "I kinda had to learn about my powers the hard way, but," Leo perked up again, "I'm getting better at controlling it. Look."

Leo threw the little balls of fire into the sky. Frank felt panic rise through him, but before the flames could hit him, they burst into little fireworks and streamed down, the flames dissolving before they could touch anything.

Leo smiled at his handy work, but it was cut short when he saw Frank rushing to the rope ladder of the _Argo II_.

"Hey, Frank, where are you going?"

"I, uh, have some stuff that I have to do. Training, and, stuff." He stammered through the excuse as he lifted his leg over the side of the boat and caught the first rung of the ladder with his foot.

"Oh, okay." Leo looked on confusedly. "Come back soon, I wanted to show you some of the new weapons I've been working on for the boat," he called after him, but Frank was already gone.

* * *

Frank had said he didn't know what to make of Leo Valdez, but now it was a completely different story. He never anticipated that he'd learn this much about him, or expected that he held this kind of power, namely the power to potentially kill him.

Okay, maybe he was being slightly dramatic. Leo definitely didn't seem like the kind of guy that went around shooting people with his flaming fingertips. But that didn't help to calm Frank's nerves.

Ever since he learned that his life was in the (metaphoric) hands of a scrap piece of wood, he was always set on edge when he was near fire. And now, his new friend had admitted to wielding the power of making fire materialize in his bare hands. This couldn't have been some kind of awful coincidence. The Fates were truly cruel sometimes.

All it would take would be one spark and the piece of timber would disintegrate. And that would be the end of Frank. Of all the ways he could die, at the mercy of a monster, battling an enemy, taking down an evil Titan, his days would end because a stupid piece of firewood burned to a crisp. Yup, super heroic.

Okay, he was being really dramatic. Still, how could he ever feel at ease around Leo again? Sure, he trusted that Leo would never kill him, or anyone for that matter, but the potential itself was enough to rattle Frank.

He definitely didn't know what to make of Leo Valdez.

* * *

Leo found Frank sitting on the steps in front of Mars Ultor's temple at Temple Hill. After Frank's hasty exit that afternoon, Leo had a feeling that his little fire show had bothered Frank. Leo had made an effort to find him, but he couldn't find Frank anywhere. He even asked Hazel, who still looked a little uncomfortable when he talked to her, but she informed him that she hadn't seen Frank since lunch.

Maybe Leo didn't know Frank that well yet, but he had called him his friend, and Leo wasn't one to let his friends go when it was obvious something was bothering them.

"Hey."

Frank turned and saw that the voice belonged to Leo. He nodded his head at him and turned back to watch the sun descend over the Oakland Hills. Frank knew he couldn't avoid Leo forever. He figured he would find him here eventually.

Leo took a seat next to Frank and attempted to suppress his ADHD-addled mind so he wouldn't fidget as he sat.

"Camp Jupiter is pretty cool," Leo started awkwardly, trying to make small talk. In-depth heart-to-hearts weren't really his forte.

"Yeah. I've only been here for a little while, but now it's like home."

This time, Leo nodded. "I get that. After my mom died, I was put into six different foster homes, but I always ran away. None of them really felt like home, you know?" He glanced at Frank before continuing. "I think I was afraid to call anywhere else home after my mom died. She died in a fire."

At his words, Frank turned to look at Leo. "She did?"

"Yeah, and I started it." Leo looked down at his sneakers. "Remember how I said I had to learn about my powers the hard way? Well, that's how. It haunted me for the longest time."

Frank felt sympathy well up in his chest for Leo. He always seemed so happy and carefree and he had been holding this burden the whole entire time.

When Frank didn't respond, Leo began talking again. "I tried to deny my powers. They felt like a curse. I was so afraid of hurting someone else so I tried to keep it hidden for as long as I could. But then I went on a quest with Piper and Jason and I spoke with my dad and I learned that my powers might be a curse, but they're also a gift." Leo paused to take a breath. "I still haven't completely gotten over my mom's death, but I figured the best thing I could do was learn how to control my powers and use them to help others instead of hurting them."

Once Leo had finished speaking he finally looked up from his sneakers to face Frank. From what he could tell, Frank didn't look angry or scared, but a little sad and maybe understanding.

Finally, Frank spoke. "I'm sorry I ran off like that from the boat. I was kinda freaked out after what you showed me, but it's because I have some of my own history with the gods." Frank hadn't planned on giving Leo his life story, but he thought he deserved to know. "I guess to make a long story short, being a child of Mars and a legacy of Poseidon, that's how I can shape shift into animals, I was considered too powerful, so my life became attached to a piece of firewood."

"Okay."

"You don't think that's crazy?"

"No, I think it's plenty crazy, but I'm kinda learning to just go with the flow. You could tell me you can detach your head from your body and I still wouldn't be surprised." Leo let his lips settle into a small smile and Frank couldn't help but smile too.

"Yeah well, if that piece of firewood ever burns out, then, basically, I'm dead. So, I guess you understand why I get nervous around fire."

"Oh. But you know I'd never-"

Frank stopped him before he could finish his sentence. "I know, Leo. I trust you."

He gave Leo another smile, this time so he could reassure him. Maybe fire would always scare Frank, but Leo was his friend. He couldn't let his fears control his life forever.

After a pause, Leo spoke again. "So, we're cool?"

"We're cool."

They shared another smile, and bumped fists (because hugging definitely isn't manly enough) before Leo jumped to his feet.

"Now, follow me. I've got to show you something and we don't have much time left before lights out."

Frank gave Leo another confused look. "What is it?"

Despite the setting sun, Frank could clearly see the mad scientist glint in Leo's eyes.

"The cannon I installed on Festus."

* * *

The two rushed back to the _Argo II_ so Leo could show Frank. He hadn't meant to give a demonstration, but somehow the cannonball erupted from Festus' mouth, shaking the whole boat still floating over New Rome. The sound alone spread throughout Camp Jupiter. They figured the cannonball landed somewhere in the Field of Mars (hopefully), and guessing from the growing crowd of campers underneath the ship, Frank and Leo were in trouble.

"Say, you don't happen to have anymore hiding places around here, do you?" Leo asked tentatively.

Frank's tone matched Leo's, "Uh, I can't think of any at the moment."

"Should we run?"

"Probably."

Yes, the Fates could be cruel, and maybe Frank and Leo had some rotten luck as well, but, at any rate, Frank was glad to have Leo as his friend. Even if it was _totally_ his fault they had kitchen duty for the next two weeks.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for not updating this as quickly. I've been caught up with planning out Four Times Annabeth was Right, so this has been on the back burner. However, I just read _The Demigod Diaries_ yesterday and, oh my goodness, I have so much more inspiration for this story now! I think I'll be making this story a few more chapters long, so keep a lookout for it!**

**As for the chapter itself, I decided to play with the contrast between Frank and Leo. I mean, boy with stick that can't be burned or he'll die and boy with power to shoot fire from his fingertips. You can't be more polar opposite than that. And despite the obvious differences between these two, I really hope they end up as good friends in the books. **

**I hope you like it! Reviews are welcome and appreciated!**

**xoxo Cherie**


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